This is the second recipe that I’ve made out of Nigella Express and I have to admit, for a book I probably wouldn’t have just gotten on my own, it’s track record is pretty good.

I changed recipe a bit using 2% milk instead of full-fat milk and also adding some leftover, sauteed spinach and tomato. The original recipe was just ham and cheese, which is good, but honestly, I really need some vegetables in my brunch meals. But, that just might be me.

I used sourdough instead of multi-grain bread and dill Harvarti instead of Gruyere cheese because that’s also how I roll. This will feed at least 4 people, maybe 6 if you add a fruit salad and other brunch items.

Croque Monsieur Bake
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson
6 slices sourdough or multi-grain bread
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
3 thick slices dill Harvarti cheese (or 6 thin slices) alternately, use Gruyere cheese slices
3 slices ham
6 eggs
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup 2% milk
4 tbsp grated Gruyere, Dill Havarti or Parmesan cheese
6 slices tomato
1/3 cup sauteed spinach
sprinkle of Worcestershire sauce

Spread the mustard on the bread slices and proceed to put together 3 sandwiches with the cheese slices, ham, spinach and tomato. Cut each sandwich in half, diagonally, so that you have 6 halves.

Squish the sandwiches into a baking dish that is approximately 10.5 X 8.25 inches and 2.25 inches deep. Next, beat together the eggs, salt and milk. I had about 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese in the fridge that I needed to use, so I threw that in here too. I also added the Worcestershire sauce to the egg mixture because I wasn’t really paying attention to the directions. Woo!

Pour the egg mixture over the sandwiches halves and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in the fridge overnight. It’ll soak up a lot of the liquid. The next morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and sprinkle the grated cheese over the bread.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden. I found that after 30 minutes, mine was mostly all done but still a little runny in the middle. I found that slicing and plating a piece and then popping it in the microwave for 1 minute, completely finished cooking any remaining egg and still kept the top all crunchy. Excellent!

Recently, it has come to my attention that October 18th is National Meatloaf Appreciation Day. A big thank you to Serious Eats for bringing the enlightenment and for also hosting an event just for all the meat loaves and their special day.

I have been trying to recreate and perfect a meatloaf that I had about nine years ago, while living in California. jwa and I had gone shopping for something and ended up at the California Cafe by the Stanford Mall for an early dinner. They had a chicken, apple and dijon meatloaf for a special which I ordered and loved — it was the greatest meatloaf I had ever had.

Much to jwa’s dismay I have tried to recapture this awesomeness on a plate all these years since but now….I think I’ve finally gotten it (or something I like just as much).

My version has turkey instead of chicken but it’s close enough. And jwa liked it too — a lot! Which is amazing as, although he did like the Montana meatloaf, generally, he’s not a huge fan of big meaty loaves. In all honesty, I am not either — at least not the beef or beef/pork/veal varieties, hence my collection of previous turkey meat loaves.

So, anyway, there you go. A mostly-meatloaf-disliker likes this meatloaf a lot and a turkey-meatloaf-liker loves this meatloaf. How’s that for a recommendation?

Turkey Meatloaf with Apple, Dijon and Carrot or (This is not the greatest meatloaf in the world — no, it’s just a tribute)
1 medium white onion, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 green apple, grated (do not squeeze the juice out)
2 big cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 lb ground turkey
.25 lb sweet pork sausage (you can also use pork sausage in a casing, just remove the casing — that’s what I did)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
salt and pepper

glaze + topping:
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp dijon mustard
pinch of dried thyme
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
canola oil spray

Okay — here we go. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion until soft — about 3-4 minutes. Add the fennel seeds and the apple and carrot. Continue to saute until any apple liquid evaporates and everything gets just a little color, about 3-4 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and let the veggies cool off in a big bowl.

Add the turkey, pork, breadcrumbs, eggs, cheese, mustard and thyme to the big bowl with the veggies. Add about one teaspoon salt and a half of a teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Mix it all up with your hands. It’ll be cold. That’s okay, it builds character.

Put your meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan. I like to go around the edges with my fingers and push down a little so there’s an indentation so that any juices can run off to the side.

Once the meat is safely in the pan, make a little something-something for the top. Mix the mustard with the honey and the pinch of dried thyme. Spread over the top of the meatloaf and sprinkle with some Parmesan. Give it just a quick, little spray with canola oil to encourage browning.

Okay, fine, so I used a bit more cheese…

Bake in the oven about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Then, turn the oven up to 375 for 15 more minutes of cooking. This extra blast of heat at the end should ensure you have a nice, toasty crust. After the one hour total baking time, take it out and check the temperature. If it’s at least 165 degrees (it’ll probably be a bit over that temperature), you’re good to go. Cover loosely with some foil and let it rest for 10-20 minutes.

Now, when you turn the heat up (about 15 minutes before it’s done) you can start a quick pan gravy.

Quick Pan Gravy
1 tbsp butter
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
Salt and pepper

Saute the onion in the butter over medium-low heat until softened and a bit golden — about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and and give it about 4-5 more minutes. Now add the flour and cook a minute or two. Add the stock, wine and mustard. Whisk and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer until the meatloaf is done resting.

Oh, here’s what else you can do if you are in a daring sort of mood — grab the meatloaf pan with some oven mits. Bring it over to the pan of gravy and tip it slightly so that some of the meatloaf juices pour into your pan gravy. See, this is where the indentations around the meatloaf in the pan help out. And, I think this goes without saying, but don’t drop the whole meatloaf into the gravy pan! Next, your meatloaf safely back on the counter, add the thyme and salt and pepper the gravy to taste.

Slice the meatloaf (ours was so moist it was a little hard to get it out in perfect slices that were all in one piece) and serve with the gravy drizzled over it. Simple steamed broccoli and buttermilk mashed potatoes make great sides!

And, wow, this was soooo good. This was the first time I added pork to the combo and I think that was what took it over the edge. I knew I had experienced a major turkey meatloaf breakthrough when jwa was all, “oh, can I take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow?” Ha! Victory is mine!

Thanks again to Serious Eats for hosting this event and giving meatloaf some love.

Well, one of the best, anyway. We were going to grill this outside but it was all cold and rainy so we opted for the grill pan. The marinade gives it such a good flavor. And I think one of my favorite elements of it was the accumulated juices after letting the pork rest — so excellent poured back over the sliced tenderloin.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Molasses and Mustard
From Bon Appétit magazine
1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp coarse-grained mustard
1 3/4-pound pork tenderloin

Whisk molasses, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and both mustards in small bowl to blend. Place pork in heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over. Seal tightly and refrigerate 4 hours.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Drain marinade into heavy small saucepan. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Grill pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 145 degrees F, turning occasionally with tongs, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to serving platter; let rest 5 - 10 minutes.

As mentioned in the intro, you can also very easily do this indoors on a grill pan. Just preheat the oven to 375 degrees, while you sear the pork on all sides, stovetop, in a grill pan (about 5-6 minutes).

Then, finish it off in the oven, roasting until the pork reaches 145 degrees — about 10-15 minutes. Let it rest about 10 minutes before serving. Pour any accumulated juices onto the pork before drizzling with the reduced marinade sauce. It’ll make extra-extra moist and tasty!

Speaking of the sauce…
Meanwhile, (as in while you rest the pork), add tablespoon of remaining vinegar to pan with marinade and boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes.

Cut pork crosswise on slight diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange pork slices on platter; drizzle the thickened sauce over. We had this with some sautéed green beans & mushrooms and smashed goat cheese potatoes. Cool weather breaks in the Summer can be fun!

The nuts and tuna that the pork bumped, will be later in the week, I believe. Ina Garten’s Peanut Butter & Jelly bars may also make an appearance.

Oh and belated happy birthday to Je Mange la Ville! My blog turned two years old on July 14th. Terrible Twos! Yeah.

jwa snacks on bread while I document the food…

This is a recipe based on one in the new issue of Eating Well, a magazine that I eagerly await each time it comes out (every other month?) I changed the cardamom to thyme, cooked the onions and rhubarb longer, subbed balsamic for the red wine vinegar and lowered the oven temperature. Why? Well, why not! Actually, I really like the way thyme tastes with fruit, as well as pork, so I thought it would be good here. And I love balsamic vinegar, so I opted for it here. Let’s see, I cooked the pork at a lower temperature just because 450 seemed high to me — but I could be wrong about that one.

The verdict? I think it turned out wonderfully this way. Especially with green beans and goat cheese mashed potatoes on the side. The onion, rhubarb, vinegar and brown sugar cook down to make this sweet and tangy jam (thicker than a sauce!), that was just great on the pork. And giving it more time to cook, lets it ll break down and combine a bit more.

Pork Tenderloin with Onion-Rhubarb Jam
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2-4 tbsp water
2 cups diced rhubarb
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
Optional: 1 tbsp chopped, fresh thyme for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 10-12 minutes. Add a tablespoon of water if needed to prevent burning. I didn’t need to, but if you do, add it.

Continue cooking, stirring often, until the onion is very soft and browner, 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir in rhubarb, vinegar, 2 tablespoons of water and brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until the rhubarb has broken down, about 10-12 minutes. Again, add a tablespoon of water if it gets too thick or starts to burn). Turn off the heat, cover and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 1 tbsp oil, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture into pork.

Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer registers 145-150 degrees, about 15 to 17 minutes (but start checking after 10 minutes).

Turn heat on low and reheat jam. Let the pork rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve the pork with the onion rhubarb jam. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Ah, Spring. Rainy pasta weather (well, sometimes). A week or so ago we were had a lovely pasta meal while the wind and storms raged outside. The dilemma — jwa likes spaghetti best whereas I prefer rigatoni or a pasta more like that. Needless to say, we really rarely have spaghetti.

I think it was the meatballs that convinced me to make this spaghetti and meatballs dish. Forming meatballs is fun. So, he got a spaghetti dinner and I got to make a bunch of little meatballs with currants and pine nuts (oh and pork, too). Everyone wins. Actually, the meal was very tasty and I may just have become a spaghetti convert after this one.

I came across this recipe (and now, I can’t remember where. I’m 90% sure it was at www.foodnetwork.com, so it’s probably one of the usual suspects there). I added a few extras to the sauce (olives, red wine and a pinch of sugar) and fennel to the meatballs.

Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch of sugar

Meatballs
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 tbsp milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 large egg
2 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp dried currants

1 pound spaghetti

For the Sauce
Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir about for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices, 2 tablespoons of the basil, the olives and the red wine. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat the heat and simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with fork, about 1 hour. Mix in 2 tablespoons basil and a pinch of sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside.

For the Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil baking sheet. Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add sausage, pine nuts, fennel and currants and blend well.

Using wet hands, form mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on baking sheet.

Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Add to sauce and barely simmer until the pasta is done.

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain and mound on yoru plates. Spoon some sauce and meatballs over the spaghetti. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Dig in.

I even made an antipasto platter to go with out meal — marinated artichokes, salami, peppers, black & green olives, parsley and garlic braided mozzarella and those big Italian beans I like. On the side, we also had steamed broccoli because, seriously, a whole plate of pork meatballs and pasta? You really need some steamed broccoli on the side.

***
Man, what was I thinking? A pasta meal when I have only 6-8 months to get into shape before my wedding dress comes in? Ha! Yeah, I found a dress at Tres Fabu (across the street from Caprials — see? It’s food related). I ordered it and now I just wait for the factory to make it and ship it. And, the one I picked was only 50% of the budget I had allotted for the dress. Awesome — now I can get that tiara I’ve had my eye on. Joking!

Just when I start to think about changing the blog theme to something more Springy, it gets all cold again. The kind of weather where you want to make a creamy sauce and bake something in it. Something like potatoes. The kind of weather where there’s a pork tenderloin involved in the whole thing as well.

I started with an idea — mmmmm…lavender and goat cheese — and ended up with a whole meal.

Lavender-Goat Cheese Potatoes
This made two 1-cup ramekins. In fact I had a little extra sauce left over. I’m sure I will be able to figure something out. My point is though, if you want to double this, add another potato, then double the whole recipe, and it should serve around 6).

3 small yellow potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thinly, peeled or unpeeled, your choice (figure about 1.5 potatoes per person for a generous serving)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups fat free, 2% or full fat milk (I used fat-free and it was very creamy)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp dried culinary lavender
2 oz goat cheese
dash of nutmeg
salt & pepper
1/4 cup + 2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Some non-stick spray or some butter
Garnish: A sprig or two of fresh lavender

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add the milk and lavender to a small pot and bring to a simmer (don’t boil). Let the lavender steep for a few minutes.

Melt the butter in a larger pan over medium-high heat and add the garlic. Saute for two minutes and then add the flour. Let that cook for a couple of minutes more and then strain the hot milk into the roux. Whisk until smooth. It should bubble and thicken. Reduce the heat and add the goat cheese, whisking until melted.

Then add the nutmeg, 1/4 cup of Parmesan and a little salt and pepper. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Spray individual ramekins with non-stick spray (or coat with a little butter) and ladle a little of the sauce in the bottom.

Layer a few potato slices around the bottom and cover with sauce. repeat until you reach the top. Ladle a generous amount of sauce on top and cover each with a teaspoon of Parmesan and some black pepper. Give a quick spray with canola or olive oil or dot with butter.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the potatoes are nice and tender and the tops are golden. Garnish with fresh lavender if available (our plants are still sleeeping for the Winter…).

Now, what to serve with the potatoes? I know — how about some Parmesan-sage crusted pork tenderloin? Well, okay then.

Parmesan-Sage Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Will feed about 3 — double it for 6.
1 pork tenderloin
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp good quality dried, rubbed sage
salt
pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Blend the cheese, sage and a few grinds black pepper in a shallow dish. Before dredging, sprinkle the pork with a little salt on all sides. Then, lay the tenderloin over the cheese and push down. Turn over and repeat. You can also kind of pat the cheese and sage into the pork. When you are doe it should look something like this.

If you don’t mind an extra step, you could also coat the pork in Dijon mustard before dredging. I was just too lazy to do that. Heat an oven proof skillet and add the oil. Sear pork on all sides. Then, pop in the oven for 15 minutes or so, until the pork registers about 150-155 degrees. Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

If you wanted a sauce to go with your pork, when you put the pork in the oven, add about a cup of chicken broth to another small pot, along with about a tablespoon of dried lavender, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a splash of wine, and a teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. Put it over medium-high heat. This way, it can reduce on the stovetop while the pork cooks in the oven. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes, reducing by about half.

If there isn’t a lot of Parmesan fall-off in you pork skillet(after you remove it from the oven, of course), strain the reduced sauce into the pork pan and continue to reduce for another minute or so. Taste and add salt/pepper as needed. Finish by melting about a half tablespoon of butter into the sauce.

Serve everything with the vegetable of your choice. I chose roasted carrots. Excellent. jwa thought so too. Now go ahead and finish the wine you opened for the sauce with dinner and call it a tasty, not-quite-Spring-yet night.

Hooray for crusty cheese!

Ah, the first recipe from the most recent Eating Well — the one with the asparagus on the cover. Except there’s no asparagus in this one. It’s a Moroccan-influenced pork ragu. This even included a special trip to Pasta Works (which has kind of become my go-to place when I need an imported, out of the ordinary, ingredient). In this case it was preserved lemons.

This really cooks pretty quickly, so I guess it’s a cheater’s ragu as I think normally it’s something you would cook for hours and hours. You’d also, because of that, use tougher meat. But the pork chops the original recipe calls for and the cubes of pork tenderloin that I used, both are very tender and don’t need to cook for hours.

I changed a couple of things from the original recipe — added a bit more olive oil, sauteed the veggies, used tenderloin instead of chops since that’s what I had in the fridge and doubled up on the butternut squash.

Moroccan Pork Ragu
2 lemons
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon plus 1 pinch ground ginger, divided
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops (1 inch thick), trimmed of fat, cut into 1-inch cubes (or 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into cubes)
14 oz chicken broth
2 cups diced butternut squash
1 cup sliced carrots (1/2 inch thick)
1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
2 tbsp chopped rinsed preserved lemon (optional — if you can’t find it just leave it out)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco (or a bit of chili paste)
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice
6-8 leaves of fresh spinach, sliced into strips

Chopped preserved lemon

Zest and juice the lemon(s) to get 1 tablespoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice; reserve the zest. Combine the juice, 1 tablespoon oil, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, pepper and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a medium bowl. Add pork; stir to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until no longer pink on the outside and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate. There should be a nice coting of the pork marinade in the pot — leave it in there and cook everything else in that.

Add the squash, carrots, garlic and onion. Saute for about five minutes and then add the broth chickpeas, tomatoes, preserved lemon (if using), tomato paste, hot sauce or chili paste, cinnamon, allspice, the reserved lemon zest and the remaining pinch of ginger to the pan. Whew! A lot of stuff, but it mostly goes in at once.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Next, stir in the pork, return to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the pork is just cooked through, 5-8 minutes more. The kitchen will smell all fragrant and you will be hungry. Call it done and get some bowls.

We had this over some rice. I thought it looked very orange so I garnished it with a little spinach. Very pretty. Oh I also added a dollop of yogurt to the top because that’s just like something I’d do. jwa was a little skeptical at first. He gave it a few sniffs (as he’s apt to do with new meals), tried a bit and decided that he liked it very much, as did I. We both had leftovers for lunch the next day. So there you go. It’s quite tasty!

*

Pork Tenderloin en Croute with Creole Mustard Sauce
This makes a really great Sunday night dinner or whenever you have some extra time. It’s pretty easy (although there are a number of steps) and it also looks very impressive, so it would be good for company. I saw this on Emeril Live and although I wanted to turn the channel, I just couldn’t because, hello!, he was was wrapping a pork tenderloin in puff pastry! How can I turn away from that? Exactly, I couldn’t.

Speaking of couldn’t — I could not find Creole mustard so I just used regular Dijon mustard and added some Creole seasoning blend that I had in the cabinet. Seemed to work just fine. If you don’t have Creole seasoning I would mix some onion powder (1 tsp), garlic powder (1 tsp), celery seed (1/2 tsp), a little cayenne pepper (pinch), sweet paprika (1/4 tsp) and some dried basil and oregano together (1/4 tsp each). Then use about 1/2 teaspoon of that mixture in the sauce.

For the tenderloin and pastry:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of all fat and silver skin
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced, seeded green bell pepper
1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme leaves
Pinch cayenne
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 (17.25-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, 1 sheet thawed
2 tbsp plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg
1 tbsp water

For the Creole mustard cream sauce:
1 tbsp AP flour
2 tbsp Creole mustard (or regular Dijon mustard and 1/2 tsp creole seasoning blend)
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup heavy cream (oh, go ahead — splurge!)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Let’s start…
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with the non-stick agent of your choice — non-stick spray, butter or olive oil. Set aside.

Season the pork tenderloin on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tenderloin; reduce the heat to medium, and brown evenly on all sides. Cook, turning frequently, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 110 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the tenderloin from the skillet and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

In the same skillet (you could also use a clean one, but I figure why waste any pork drippings), heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery and green bell peppers.

Saute until vegetables are tender and any released juices have evaporated, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the thyme, a little pepper, a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne and cook for 1 additional minute. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and place in a bowl. Stir in the parsley and allow mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture for the sauce.

On a lightly floured work surface, lightly roll 1 sheet of the puff pastry to a 12 by 13-inch rectangle. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs evenly over the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Spread the grated cheese over the breadcrumbs.

Pat the seared tenderloin dry. Spread the unreserved vegetable mixture onto half of the puff pastry, over the breadcrumbs and cheese. Place the tenderloin over the vegetables, so that it is parallel to the shorter side of the pastry.

Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash around the 1-inch border of the pastry. Gently lift the pastry around the tenderloin, and continue rolling the tenderloin in the pastry, jellyroll style. Use the egg wash to seal the edges of the pastry. I used the present wrapping technique of folding the end pieces up to the side and then sealing.

Place the tenderloin, seam-side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Make a decorative cross-hatch pattern across the tops of the pastries, being careful not to cut through the pastry. Brush the top and side of the pastries evenly with the remaining egg wash. Refrigerate the tenderloin in pastry for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Now, in terms of planning the meal out, it worked well to start the sauce right after I put the tenderloin in the oven.

Making the Creole mustard cream sauce:
Heat the reserved vegetables in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard (and Creole seasoning if using plain Dijon mustard) and continue to cook for 1 more minute.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, over medium-low heat until sauce is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Season sauce with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Set sauce aside and serve warm or at room temperature.

Place the tenderloins in the preheated oven and bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 150 - 155 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve sliced, with the Creole Mustard Cream Sauce.

We also had this with some wild rice and pan seared asparagus. For just the two of us, one tenderloin worked perfectly. We both had two slices each for dinner and two leftover slices each for lunch, along with some leftover sauce. It was a very decadent and tasty lunch.

A couple of weeks ago I caught an old episode of Food 911 with Tyler Florence and I was very intrigued by some stuffed, baked apples that were made. But even more so, I loved the apple corer. I have always wanted one but always seemed to forgot to look for the gadget whenever I was in a store that sold them. Oh but no more. I went to the Kitchen Kaboodle by my work the very next day and got an apple corer.

They are very fun. Are they a dreaded unitasker? Probably. Don’t care. Sorry, AB.

So, there I am with my apples, my corer, my corn bread muffins. What else did I need? Pork! The pork chop recipe is also from Tyler Florence. The brine called for 1 cup of apple juice concentrate but I omitted that. We had the apples and pork chops with a side of roasted purple potatoes and carrots. It was delicious.

Baked Apples with Corn Bread Stuffing
(I roughly quartered this recipe as there’s only two of us and I only needed 2 apples, but I kept the 1 cup of cider)
8 gala apples (I used granny smith)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large corn muffin, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup golden raisins
6 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup hard cider
1 sprig of rosemary

Core the apples with an apple corer, making a good size cavity to hold the stuffing. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, muffin crumbs, raisins, sage, bacon, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

Spoon the sweet and savory stuffing into the cavities of the cored apples; stand them up, side by side, in a baking dish.

Pour the cider around the apples and add the rosemary sprig. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 375 degrees F, until soft when pierced with a knife. In a pot, reduce the cider for a few minutes. You can use it as a sauce for both the apples and pork chops.

Thick Cut Pork Chops, Brined, Seared and Finished in the Oven
1 gallon water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup salt
1 spring fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
4 thick cut loin pork chops (mine were boneless, bone-in is fine too)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine the water, brown sugar, salt, rosemary, peppercorns, and rosemary. Give it a good stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Transfer the mixture to an extra-large re-sealable plastic bag. Submerge the pork chops in the brine, seal up the bag, and put it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to tenderize the meat.

Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper. Put a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle the olive oil and get it hot. Lay 2 pork chops in the pan and brown 4 minutes per side.

Remove the pork chops to a large baking pan; brown the remaining 2 chops and add them to the others in the pan. Put the baking pan in the oven and roast the chops for 10-20 minutes (this will really depend on the thickness — if you’re using boneless chops, check after about 8 minutes to see how they are doing). The pan side of the chops will get this really amazing, crusty glaze to it. Make sure you serve it that side up so that everyone can see the awesomeness.

Cider sauce reducing with pan drippings.

The pork is done when the center is still rosy and the internal temperature reads about 145 degrees F when tested with an instant-read thermometer.

Let the pork rest for about 10 minutes. After resting, pour any accumulated juices into the reducing cider sauce and serve with the pork, apples and roasted veggies if you make those too.

One of the reviews at Epicurious said of the sauce for this pork,”I could drink it with a straw.” It’s not like I can pass up a recommendation like that! And, after making it, I totally concur. Bring on the straws, I say.

The original recipe called for 5 tablespoons of butter (practically a whole stick) — imho, not at all needed. I used 1 tablespoon of butter and the sauce was very rich, flavorful and straw-able just like that — and a bit healthier.

For the pork, I used my old-standby way of preparation — slather with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and fresh chopped rosemary. Sear in an oven-proof pan, roast to finish cooking. I always pull it out around 145 and it’s always perfectly moist, tender and juicy.

We had this with the curried acorn squash and leek flans — my WCC10 post (coming early next week) and some braised brussels sprouts. Quite a nice Fall dinner!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Jus
2 cups apple cider
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 whole allspice
3 large fresh thyme sprigs (or a big rosemary sprig, which is what I used)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 12-ounce pork tenderloins, well trimmed
Olive oil
2 Rosemary sprigs
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper

Mix first eight ingredients in medium saucepan. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 30-40 minutes. Strain, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Return liquid to saucepan and boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slather pork with olive oil, salt and pepper generously and coat with the minced garlic and rosemary.

Brown on all sides in a oven-proof pan. Finish roasting in the preheated oven, 20-22 minutes or until the pork reaches 145 degrees.

Cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Pour any pork drippings from the rested meat into the cider sauce.

Then slice and serve with the sauce drizzled over the top. Deee-licious.